


You Belong Here

by Twin_Kitten



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Aliens, Alpha Kylo Ren, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Space, Dubious Science, F/M, Inspired by some BS, Kylo is an Alien, Mildly Dubious Consent, Modern AU with Space Travel, No Tentacles, Power Imbalance, Rey is a Human, Size Difference, Size Kink, also inspired by Hades and Persephone, but looks human, but stops when Rey tells him to, eventual devotion, is that a tag?, kylo is pushy AF
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-10-17 08:34:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20618099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twin_Kitten/pseuds/Twin_Kitten
Summary: Rey is finally happy. She is starting university in two weeks with prestigious engineering department and a hard won scholarship. Yeah, she still has to keep her part-time job and carry a full-time course load, keeping her GPA above 3.5, but life is good. By a fluke of luck (or slip of misfortune), when a teleport beam gets caught in the magnetic wave of a wormhole, she is accidentally transported across the galaxy onto an alien warlord's spaceship in the middle of battle. And he decides to keep her.Rey’s not going down without a fight.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the Rey-sistance, all hail queen Rey.
> 
> Sadly, this is not based on any of the prompts, but I should do that next. This is inspired by a super silly anime game/app that I tried, and have now butchered into this story. This is mildly dubious consent, due to the power imbalance between Rey and Kylo, and he essentially manipulates her by making a bet with her that she can't win. He's pushy and demanding, but he always stops when Rey tells him to. He is an Alien, she is a Human, but no tentacles or anything like that, he looks human, but bigger. SIze kink guys, it's in the tags.

With books paid for, food in her belly, and a smile on her face, Rey was walking with a skip in her step despite the thirty extra pounds of hard-edged and expensive texts in her backpack digging into her spine. At least, she had been smiling until she heard the rumble of thunder. She was still several blocks away from her tiny apartment when she felt the first rain drops hit her face and arms.

Breaking into a jog despite the risk of slipping, she turned the corner and dashed down a covered alley. Coming out the other side, her luck deserted her and her foot hit a wet patch. Her feet went out from under her in the middle of the street, leaving her gasping on her back. The only upside was that it had stopped raining. Or so she thought as she caught her breath, rolled over, and struggled to her hands and knees.

The rain had stopped slapping the black asphalt under her palms and despite the cold drip tracing her neck, she could see that it had stopped. But she could still hear it. Pushing to her feet and dusting off her hands, she looked around and noticed it had only stopped raining on her. In a five foot circle around her, it was as if the rain were paused, frozen in the air. Outside that it was still pouring. Is this a concussion?

Reaching out she touched the drops than hung near her, startled when they splashed against her skin and dripped down her arm.

And the light, it was steadily growing. Despite the odd rain she still thought it was nothing but a car coming at her and her brain choosing this moment to break with reality. She had to get out of the street, but when she tried to move, her feet didn’t follow. She fell over again when her shoes stuck to the ground as if they had been glued, knees striking the pavement with a sharp pain. The light kept getting brighter. There was an odd ringing in her ears and a tickling, tingling, crackle along her skin.

Just as the barrage of sensation was becoming unbearable, Rey realized that this was not a concussion, at least not like any thing she had ever heard. Just in time to see the rain that had paused around her start to flow up towards the sky. Oddly, the light was moving up too, smearing across her eyes as it headed towards the sky. The crackle on her skin snapped like a rubber band and she screamed as she was ripped off the earth and hurtled into space.

* * *

Groaning, Rey rolled over from her side to her back. That was some kind of bullshit dream that she hoped never repeated. There was a crick in her neck, one of her arms had the telltale numbness of sleeping on it, while her shoulder, hip, knee, and ribcage felt sore and out of place like when she had been forced to sleep on hard floors in one of her foster homes. 

Prying her crusted eyes open, Rey stared up at… something. The ceiling was something from a sci-fi movie, all smooth shining metal and strange sleek but unnatural curves. Turning her head, despite the pain in her neck, she looked around. She was in some kind of giant room, all slick metal surfaces and a floor like a black mirror which explained her aches and pains.

There was a giant window, bigger than the ones in the University library, bigger than an entire airplane, a wall of glass looking out into… night sky? But there was too much sky, too many stars and darkness, and not enough of the ground. Turning her head the other way and feeling pain shoot from her neck down her spine she gasped. There was a weird chair that was vaguely reminiscent of a throne on a raised platform, a strange lump of gold fabric draped over it. The walls behind it were draped in shimmery red fabric. And at the base of it, was a man slumped on the floor, while another with a glowing knife stood over him raising it to stab into him.

"STOP!"

The would be assassin, dressed all in red and covered from head to toe, hesitated. Then he aimed the blade again. Rey couldn't move fast enough to stop him, not that she had a weapon or the ability to fight him off even at her best. 

The man shifted and Rey could see him flexing as he started to bring the weapon into position, but she and the man on the ground were saved by the shriek of an alarm, foreign words from what sounded like a repetitive pre-recorded message playing along with it. The man seemed to think for a moment that went on forever, staring at her face. Then he turned away, running into the darkness and disappearing from sight.

The man on the ground was still unconscious. Something - maybe the scent of smoke in the air, or the sound of shouts and guns and alarms, but mostly the man who had tried to kill the guy- told her they needed to get out of there. So, Rey heaved her body up. She was so tired though, and it felt like she weighed more than usual, and everything hurt. "Hey," she managed to stagger over, kneel at his side, and shake his shoulder. “You gotta... wake up...”

He too big and she was too hurt to drag him out of here, wherever here was, and she had no idea where to take him even if she could. He needed to wake up. Glancing around and seeing the smoke she had only smelled before, she needed to do something. So she raised a hand to slap him across the face.

Fingers closed hard around her wrist mid swing, and she whimpered as the bones seemed to creak under his grip. “Essahch kay oh emdee oh ahchess kayen?”

Waking him up was clearly a mistake. He was getting to his feet, seeming to not feel any of the pain she had from laying on the floor, and he still hadn’t let go as he rose up, and up… and up. Taking her with her. Which was kind of helpful, in that she didn't have ot fight the heavy feeling to get up, but not so great in that he was lifting her body weight by her wrist. He was much bigger than he had seemed when he was unconscious. His eyes were hard and dark, voice rough and guttural as he grunted something at her. She would guess it was a question, but she had no real idea.

Wincing as he jerked at her, she hissed, “Let go!” Pulling at her hand, she was surprised when he actually released her and she nearly fell again. But he only tilted his head as he stared at her, saying something else.

“I don’t understand you…” she rubbed at her wrist, already seeing the dark red marks that implied she would have a hand shaped bruise by this time tomorrow. If she lived that long. His frown was accompanied by a grumbling sigh, punctuated with another shrill alarm.

Now she reached for him, despite his imposing demeanor. "We have to get out of here." She grabbed his hand, barely noticing how his palm turned to cup hers and their fingers folded together like they had done it a thousand times. She muttered to herself that he probably didn't understand her any more than she understood him, but he followed her as she towed him towards what looked like a door.

They stumbled and staggered through a haze filled hallway, flashes of light from explosions nearly blinding them, electrical sparks raining down and making Rey hiss in pain as she felt the speckles of burns across her arms. With each passing moment Rey was fading, her mind unprepared for this kind of chaos after being sucked into a beam of light, while he was getting stronger, until he was the one tugging her along and leading the way through winding hallways and sliding doors.

She stumbled as he whipped around corners, his pace so fast she was practically running to keep up with his long legs, and before she could do more than grumble a few complaints under her breath, he was banging on a keypad in front of sliding doors. But these didn’t open the moment they walked forward like the last several had. When it made an angry beeping noise, he growled, took a step back and held up his hand in a grabbing motion. With a swift movement, the door he had been trying to open  _ ripped out of the wall _ .

“Okay. I’ve had enough of this dream…” Rey could feel her skin going hot and her face going cold, and she knew she was about to pass out. But she lasted just long enough to see where he was taking her. A hanger. Full of spaceships. “Oh… yeahhh, Ima jusss… si dowwwwn...” She could hear herself slurring her words, saw the black creeping into her vision, and only hoped that she woke up from this alien abduction nightmare. Or if not, maybe this scary guy would take pity on her and save her since she woke him up and sort of saved him from being stabbed.

She felt her bottom hit the floor and then the feeling of weightlessness. The last thing she saw before she sank into darkness was the underside of his strong jaw.

* * *

Kylo Ren didn’t understand how this fragile looking woman had appeared at his side or why she had saved his life. But he was going to find out. What an odd creature, so slim and small, jabbering at him in a language he didn’t know but his translator did, forcing him to follow her until her body gave out.

She wasn’t a warrior, neither his nor Snoke’s, that much was obvious from her dress and behavior. No warrior would faint in such a way without a severe injury, and she didn’t wear either of the uniforms and colors that had dominated the battle. When he lifted her into his arms, carrying her to his Tie Silencer and laying her on the floor of the small fighter, she felt delicate. Small. If she was a regular citizen, why had she been aboard the Supremacy and why had she helped him? Surely all of Snoke’s people knew who he was, and even a kitchen girl wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

He kept remembering how her hand had curled in his, and how, without a thought, he had done the same. He was drawn to her. And despite the scent of smoke and fear and sweat, she had still been very appealing. The feel of her in his arms as he had carried her was... satisfying. And he hadn't been satisfied for years. That discontent, that unending void inside himself- the need to conquer and take and own- was what drove him to take control of the galaxy. He would do what no one else had ever done; unite the cosmos under one rule.

After the ship was set on course, speeding towards his territory, he examined her more closely. Torn pants and a wet shirt of an unknown fabric, some kind of satchel full of books written in a language he didn’t recognize, no sign of a translator or identification beacon, but she appeared to have a communication device. When he pushed the buttons, it lit up but then went dark soon after, appearing to need a code to use. 

When he disembarked the ship after jumping a warp to his home planet, then navigated to his palace, he carried her again. He didn’t entertain the questions of his advisers as they swarmed around him, ignoring them as he focused on the sweet pressure of her against his chest and the way her breath puffed against his neck. Instead he walked away from them, carrying her to his suite while shouting for the consort chambers to be prepared.

Whoever she was, however she had appeared, this woman was his now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I wish I could stretch out the "sorry I don't speak your language" confusion, because it would be hilarious, I went in a different direction to speed things along. But don't worry. Kylo and Rey are not on the same page even if they are speaking the same language now.
> 
> Also, dubious science. I am not an astrophysicist and am making this up.

When Rey woke up she was oddly comfortable. She felt like she was laying in the softest silkiest cloud that had ever floated across the sky, and though she could still feel the aches in her joints, the pain was much less and didn’t bother her as much. She didn't think she had ever been so comfortable in her life.

Opening her eyes slowly, she found herself staring at another ceiling, this time a much more recognizable grey stucco or adobe material. And oddly close to her; she instinctively tried to pull her head back into the bed to get away from how close the roof was, but it wasn’t a trick of her eyes. She was in some kind of alcove. The walls and ceiling that surrounded her were a creamy grey color, soothing and not too bright or dull, and for a moment she thought her dream had taken her to some kind of buried alive situation, but when she shot up and looked around she found one side of the bed was open to a large airy room.

Scrambling out of the sleeping cave, she found herself in a room with towering ceilings and giant gaping holes in the wall leading outside, like doorways fluttering with gauzy curtains as it overlooked a dark green jungle covering a rocky mountain side and what looked like an ocean. Everything in this dream was oversized. Including the man looking at her right now. The man she had found and woken up. Saved?

He was big. Bigger than any man she had ever seen, tall and wide, and based on how his robe was gaping at his chest, made of muscles and nothing else. And he was walking towards her.

Stumbling back, practically falling into the bed again to keep from being grabbed, she watched as his face quirked upwards and he held out his hand.

“Uh… no thanks?”

His eyes hardened again and he huffed, motioning to his ear then to his hand and Rey realized there was something in his hand that he was trying to give her. “Oh…” Plucking the strange curl of metal out of his palm she noticed the center looked like an ear piece from those FBI movies she had seen. Only this was clearly much more ornamental, like an earring rather than a secret agent ear piece.

It slipped in the same way as a earbud, flexing and molding into her ear, and the cool metal curved over the outside shell of her ear, leaving a deep red jewel to hang behind her lobe. Then he spoke... and she understood him.

“I am Kylo Ren, Royal Commander of the First Order galactic territory. Who are you?”

That was a lot of information, and even though it sounded like he was speaking English, she wasn’t sure she understood most of it. “I’m… Rey Kenobi?” He didn’t seem impressed, looking like her old math teacher about to say ‘are you asking me or telling me?’ But at least he understood her. “Sorry, did you say galactic?”

“Yes. I rule the Tallus 2209 and Phuag star systems.” When she just stared at him, he added, “Located between the Paxia, Lota Outeria, and the Sigma Libraeim systems, in the Triakuliu Galaxy?”

The whole time he was talking, Rey found herself nodding despite having no idea what he was talking about. “Yeah... I have no idea what that means.”

Now he looked a mix of concerned and frustrated. “Did you receive a head injury during the battle? How are you unaware of well known galactic locations?”

“Oh, see, I’m pretty sure I’m dreaming, so…” She grinned. “Once I wake up, I’m never eating mushroom and pineapple pizza again. This is the strangest and most realistic trip I have ever been on.” When he stared at her with his eyebrows raised, Rey grimaced, rushing her next words. “Not that I get high all the time, you know… a food trip. Not a drug trip.”

“I do not know what kind of food you are speaking of, but if you are hungry, I will call the servants.”

“Well, that’s not what I meant, but I don’t turn down food!” Rey grinned merrily, deciding to go along with this dream instead of fighting it. Maybe she could write a book or something. That would be cool.

“While we wait, you will tell me what you do know of yourself and your home location.”

“Okay…?”

He led her to a sitting area, then disappeared for a few moments, presumably to order food. It seemed to be mostly pillows strewn in a layer across the floor like some kind of Roman orgy pile, Arabian lounge, or the Japanese floor seating she had seen in movies, but also strange and different. Everything felt just familiar enough that she didn’t feel like she was in an alien spaceship but with the slightest hint of the strange, small enough that she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what the differences were but big enough that something in her brain was freaking out.

He returned while she had been staring at the set up and motioned to a pillow near him, probably too near if she thought about it but she was so busy looking around it didn't occur to her to keep some distance between them. Clumsily settling into a spot, watching him do the same with a practiced and athletic grace, Rey blushed. “Well… I’m from Niima, which is in Jakku state, and I start at Western Reach University this week.”

He was looking at her with the same odd confusion that she must have been looking at him with when he described where they were. “ That… means nothing to me. What is your planet and star system name?”

“Oh.. Earth, in the…” Rey could not for the life of her remember if the solar system had a name and if it did, what it was. “In the solar system.”

He blinked. “No." He leaned close, peering at her ear. "Is your translator not working? I want your planet name, not what it is made of.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s called Earth. That’s what we call it. We have the sun?”

Now his eyes looked flinty, like he was trying to hold back his frustration. “Yes, most solar systems contain at least one star, but you are saying… Your words are translating oddly. You are saying the name of your planet is Ground. What language are you speaking?”

“English…? I guess Earth is a synonym for dirt or soil, though. That’s what it is called.” She shrugged, “It’s in the Milky Way galaxy if that helps?”

“That appears to be translating correctly, but I am unfamiliar with that galaxy. What quadrant?”

“Um… I have no idea?” Scratching her neck self-consciously Rey winced, despite having no reason to be embarrassed. “I’m in mechanical engineering, not astrophysics.”

The air was thick with his apparent frustration; Rey could feel the tension pulsing on her, like a heavy throbbing blanket stifling her breath and weighing down her chest. And she remembered how he had used telekinesis to crush the door that had been in their way. "You aren't going to crunch me are you?"

The thick feeling in the air seeped away as he looked at her in confusion. "Crunch you?"

"Yeah... you know," She mimed doing what he had, holding out her hand with tense and clenching fingers, then crunching it into a fist. "Like that."

He huffed but the sound had more humor than frustration, and he shook his head. "No, I will not use the Force to 'crunch' you, as you call it."

There was a long silence when he seemed to be studying her, just... staring. Every moment that passed made Rey feel more and more like a bug under a microscope or an animal at the zoo. It was making her strangely hot and fidgety.

"So..." Rey bit her lip, her fingers pulling at the loose threads of the new holes in the knees of her jeans, ignoring the blood in the fibers and the scabs on her skin. "What are you going to do with me?"

"Do with you?"

Rey nodded, opening her mouth to ask _ Are you going to kill me? Send me home? Sell me into a weird alien zoo? Cut me up and study me? What do aliens do with random girls who get sucked out of their world? _ But she never got the chance when a soft bell sounded from behind a curtain interrupting her. She turned her head to see a bowing and deferential man enter. At Kylo Ren's nod, the man turned away, opening the curtain and admitting three men into the room.

Kylo Ren was the largest man she had ever seen, and these men were smaller than he was, but they were still in the realm of outrageously tall. A pale-skinned slim redhead with a pinched expression. A man with brownish skin and dark curly hair and a smile. A stiff looking man with an almost sallow complexion.

All of them were looking at Kylo Ren with respect, bowing before turning curious, and in one case lascivious, eyes on her.

Kylo arched an eyebrow. "I called for food, not an audience with my war council."

"My Liege, who is this? The guards said you were carrying this tiny female. You know the Snoke army will stop at nothing, not even a well disguised assassin." The pale man spoke, giving her a look as if she were trash.

The curly haired man grinned at her and Rey blinked in confusion. "She is quite lovely for a killer."

Kylo Ren's previous attitude with her had felt cool and stiff, but after seeing how his spine straightened and his face went hard and blank, Rey was forced to examine the possibility that his previous behavior was... relaxed. His eyes were practically ice when he responded to the redhead. "General Hux, this is Rey Kenobi of Earth, by way of the Milky Way galaxy. You will find out where that is and how she arrived on the Supremacy during the battle."

"Earth?"

Kylo Ren cast a glance at her and his voice was tight when he responded. "Yes. Earth."

"But that is not-"

"I am aware. Go Hux." The redhead's expression turned even more sour, and he cast a dismissive glance at her before stalking out of the room.

The smallest of the men, the one who looked a bit sick and weasley, spoke. "My lord, if I may?" At Kylo's nod, he continued, "I believe her arrival was due to wormhole activity during transport. We were attempting to retrieve you from the battleship when the technicians became aware of a fluctuating magnetic field and traced it back to a wormhole that had recently opened and intercepted the transport beam."

Rey could feel clammy chills on her skin again, and she took a few deep breaths to stave off the wobbly feeling that came with them. She really didn't want to pass out again, and she definitely didn't want to do it in front of these men. "Wait, what? I got sucked up by accident?"

"It appears so, Lady Kenobi."

Tilting her head, she dismissed the argument about the strange title in favor of her more important question. "Can you send me back?"

Now he looked uncertain, his face twisting on one side in an exaggerated look of thought. "I believe so, yes. I will... have to discuss it with my technicians. Run tests. It may take a few cycles or longer."

"Good. And Mitaka?" Kylo stared at him and the man sheepishly nodded with a whispered, "Yes?"

His glare was penetrating and it wasn't even directed at her. "The moment you have an answer, you will come to me. Lady Kenobi saved my life and I will have her treated with the utmost respect." He reached out and Rey was shocked to feel his finger stroking under her chin, the touch far too intimate for strangers, and far too distracting to be coming from an alien.

"Yes, of course." He bowed repeatedly as he backed towards the door, clearly more submissive than the other men. "My Lord, My Lady."

Slapping his hand away from where it had lingered on her jaw and neck, backs of his fingers brushing up and down her skin, she glared at him. "You can't.... Don't touch me like that!"

His touch turned hard, his palm shifting to curve around the back of her neck and pulling her towards him. Rey gasped, hands flying out to brace on the pillows to prevent herself from falling into his lap. "Here, I am Ruler. I will do as I please with you. If you slap my hand away again, you will feel the consequences."

"I'm not just... not going to let you do whatever you want to me!" Her words were a harsh whisper but she was unable to pull away from his grip.

Soft laughter from the last remaining man caught her attention, and she started to turn her head but then Kylo was gripping her chin and forcing her to look at him. "I enjoy your spirit, however, you can not behave like that in front of my subordinates. You are lucky it is only Poe or I would be forced to punish you." He released her chin and the back of her neck and she nearly fell backwards as she scrambled to make space between them. "During dinner, we will discuss what I may or may not do with you."

The man who remained, apparently named Poe, was still chuckling. "I like her Ren. She's a good challenge for you."

Typically Rey would have argued with being called a challenge, but for now she was still too shaken up by the standoff with Ren. She curled away from Kylo, hunching her shoulders defensively.

He only snorted before moving on. "What is your report?"

Still smirking, Poe began listing off what sounded like troop movements, but since none of it made any sense to Rey, she didn't remember a word of it. But there were a few things she understood. "Snoke's armada was heavily damaged, his fleet in retreat. I've sent cruisers to finish it off but since you killed him, I don't imagine there will be much resistance when we take over his territory."

"And the Supremacy?"

"Destroyed, my liege. A damaged freighter attempting to escape plowed into the side just after we activated the transport beam and it fractured into pieces. When you didn't arrive on the teleport pad we thought the worst."

"I wanted that ship..." Kylo Ren hummed, making eye contact with Poe who nodded, both of them looking like they were trading secrets with their eyes. "I'm sure you were all relieved when I arrived in the Silencer."

Poe's eye contact was very pointed, long and direct, before he spoke. "Of course, my lord."

"Very good."

* * *

Rey was overwhelmed. After the strange meeting with Kylo Ren's warriors, she found herself hustled off to what seemed to function as a bathroom. A serving girl showed her how to turn on the shower water, which was accompanied by a blue flowing light and a humming noise, as well as other fixtures, and Rey managed to use the 'toilet' without any mishaps.

After a refreshing shower, she changed into the clothes she was given. It was interesting. Kylo Ren had been wearing an almost uniform style outfit when she found him; all black, thick and heavy fabric pants, and what looked like a quilted top. But since then he, and everyone she had seen, was wearing long flowing robes of varying colors, but tending toward warm tones. Kylo on the other hand, was the only one in black.

Until she slipped into what she had been given. Most of her draping outfit was in a dark grey, but it had several black accents. And there were no pants. Or bra and underwear. Rey wasn't the kind of girl to wear a lot of dresses or skirts, and only if she had to for some dressy occasion, so the gauziness of the fabric and the air moving under the outfit was distracting and made her feel exposed. And even though she wasn't gifted in the chest area, she still liked the security of a bra.

After double checking several times that she wasn't actually exposing herself, she peeked out of what they had called the 'refresher' and was met with the smiling face of another serving girl. Following her through the halls, Rey was astounded by the scale of everything. The open air walkways had nearly twenty foot ceilings held up by pillars, the doorways were wide enough for a car to pass through with the arches reaching up to within a foot of the ceilings. Even inside everything was over-sized. Windows that she could have stood in with her arms stretched and not touched the top or sides. Fountains she could swim in. It was almost vertigo inducing.

After winding through what she was concluding was a palace, Rey was grateful to be ushered back into the hallway leading to what she was coming to think of as her room. The room she had first woken up in. After struggling with the big heavy door and then flailing through the curtains that hid it from the inside, she collapsed into the bed area, breathing a sigh of relief, laying back, and closing her eyes to try and rest or get her head on straight.

Until an oddly gentle and amused voice interrupted her. "Please, make yourself at home."

Sitting up sharply, she looked around, finding Kylo Ren sitting in the pillowed lounge area watching her with a smirk on his face and a cup in his hand. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my room."

"This is... your room?"

He nodded.

"Why did I wake up in your bed?"

With the way he paused for several moments, she would have thought the question threw him for a loop, but he gave no sign other than a raised eyebrow. "Because your quarters hadn't been prepared yet."

"Why did they send me to this room?"

"Did they send you to this room?"

"They sent me to the hallway and this is the only door I know. So I thought..." Rey trailed off, watching as something flickered behind his eyes, something predatory, before it was encased in the cold expression she was quickly learning he used to hide things.

"Your room is next to mine. I will show you." Walking towards her, he held out his hand. "Join me."

Rey hesitated. Kylo Ren had been an odd mix of gentlemanly and inappropriate, so she wasn't sure which side accepting his hand would encourage. Afterall he hadn't left her to die on that spaceship, he had given her new clothes, and was helping her to find her way home. But he also seemed to have no problem trying to take control of her body or touching her without permission.

Still, Rey found herself laying her palm in his. "Alright."

In his own subdued way he seemed pleased; his shoulders shifted ever so slightly and his face relaxed enough that his eyes no longer had a tense crinkle at the edges. He took her hand and tucked it into his elbow, leading her out the door she had come in through. He took her into the hall and down several yards to another, slightly smaller and less gaudy door.

Inside was much the same as his, though scaled down and significantly more feminine. His room was all stark colors of black and creamy grey with pops of red, while this room was a lilac grey complemented with tan and gold accents. There were more sitting pillows with more texture to them, fluffy and soft instead of the sleek and satin styles of his pillows.

What drew her attention was the table piled high with unrecognizable foods. Some were clearly meats and plant based foods, but beyond that she couldn't have named them.

"This will be your room."

Rey had the distinct feeling that there was something he wasn't saying, something about this room, but she couldn't think what it could be.

* * *

Kylo Ren looked down at the young woman as she gazed around the suite, "This will be your room." For now. 

Though it was unusual enough for him to install someone in the rooms near his, he preferred guests installed in another wing to keep possible attackers away and maintain the silence he liked, it was even more shocking that he had placed her in the consort's chambers. The suite was reserved for his betrothed and eventually his wife. Though once he had Rey, she would be sharing his rooms. He never understood why men kept their wives in separate living quarters; the idea of Rey being his and not keeping her as close as possible was unthinkable.

He needed to be assured of her welfare, to protect her, and to touch and kiss and lick her whenever he wanted. Even more so now that he caught her undiluted scent, clean and fresh from bathing herself. Though she didn't smell like one of his people, there was a familiarity to her scent, something primal that called to him. If she had been one of his people he would have thought she was an Omega, and mated her on the spot. As she was something called Human, and lacked the mating glands and instincts required to claim her immediately, he would have to move considerably slower.

It was difficult to keep these plans to himself. He wanted to lay claim to her to keep other males away, he wanted to begin preparations for their bonding ceremony, to announce her to his people. He wanted to take her. She had been strong on the Supremacy, brave and beautiful despite the smoke smudging her face, the red flush of exertion, and the bright eyes of an overwhelmed mind. But now, bathed and dressed in his colors, smelling divine and delicious? She looked biteable. The skin of her neck was creamy and golden, her face clean and clear, mouth softly pink. Every time she bit her lip nervously he wanted to smooth it with his own lips.

Soon.

Tonight he would tell her that she was his. They would rule the galaxy together.

The way she glanced up at him, as if gauging him and his reactions, was something he approved of. It would serve her well to be aware of him and his moods. He also enjoyed her spirit, refusing to bend to his will. Strength would suit his wife, and he enjoyed the challenge. Other women were so eager to curry his favor there was no connection, all of them saying and doing what they thought he wanted.

He always knew the truth of Rey, even after so short a time together, her face betraying her every thought. Even after learning of his station and power, she hadn't changed her behavior. She didn't hesitate to tell him her true feelings and tell him to behave in a way she found acceptable. It would be an interesting process teaching her to live at his side.

So he watched as she explored the room, her curious confusion pleasing him. Something in the way she moved brought him peace, and he liked that she felt comfortable enough to look around his private rooms.

"You will join me for dinner tonight."

"I will?"

"Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Some one asked how tall Kylo is. I don't want to give hard numbers in the story, so people can imagine him as big as they want, but if you google an image of Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and his wife, that is the size difference I am imagining (but Rey is 5'9" not 5'2", so upsize him to keep the ratio the same.)
> 
> Warning: Pushy Kylo gets handsy, using their power imbalance with some manipulation of Rey's circumstances. In case that triggers you, I have put the Mildly Dubious Consent tag above, and I am warning you here.

After Kylo announced she would be joining him for dinner, Rey was able to spend the rest of the day in her rooms; eating and reading the materials she had been given in an attempt to acclimate her to this alien world she was now living in. She was still hoping it was all a dream and would just wake up in the hospital, and was mostly playing along until then. Though the thought of that bill half made her want to stay, despite the ridiculousness of that idea.

Despite being only a few yards down the hall from Kylo's door, Rey was escorted by a maid. Rose giggled and blushed every time she looked at Rey. Though Rey had asked for something else to wear, no one had provided her with more clothes, or even her clothes from Earth, so she was left in a soft blue robe and loose black pants that draped over her like water. It was making Rey nervous. Rose had promised that tomorrow she would take her to the machine they used to make their clothing, and maybe she would be able to get something reasonable then.

She was ushered through the over-sized wooden door, navigated her way through the curtains again, and found nothing. 

"Uh... Kylo?"

"Come."

His voice came from outside and Rey wandered toward the open doorway leading to the terrace. She found him sprawled on the pile of pillows again, a few wooden trays with food spread out around the area, within reach of him but with enough space for him to move around and not bump them. Kylo was in nothing but loose silk pants and a matching robe that was belted, but left loose enough to show off his chest. Rey could feel the blush that crept up her neck.

Eyeing the space he motioned to, Rey shook her head. There was no way she would fit in that space without being plastered to his side. He raised an eyebrow, sensing her refusal on the tip of her tongue, and shifted just enough that it would be rude of her not to accept, so she carefully settled next to him while giving him a warning look.

He immediately settled back where he was and now they were lounging together, her torso pressed to his massive side, and his arm was swinging up and behind her shoulders, holding her close.

"Kylo, this is... Too close!" She struggled to pull away and make some space between them, but with his arm around her and the tray of food behind her, there wasn't any where to move.

"I prefer you here." His voice was warm and soothing despite his words, rasping over her nerve endings. He offered her a cup and the first sniff told her it was alcohol.

Rey wasn't sure what dinner with Kylo entailed, but the fact that he had something alcoholic delivered to his rooms and ready before she arrived made her wary. And appropriate and personal space were concepts he didn't seem to have.

She carefully sniffed at the drink he handed her, the cool surface of the cup at odds with the burn in her nostrils. "You aren't going to drug me, are you?"

His eyebrow rose slowly and he gave her a long look before speaking. "No."

"Why not?"

"I want you willing." One of his shoulders shifted under the smooth fabric of his robe, making the curve of his muscled shoulder stand out for a moment. "If I wanted to drug you or take you with shameful means, I would not need you to join me for dinner."

"I guess that's true..." Rey hesitantly sipped the liquid and despite the strong smell of alcohol, all she tasted was... "Chocolate?"

"Chocolate?"

"This tastes like chocolate."

"I assume 'chocolate' is a human food from your Dirt planet?"

"I've told you... You know it's called Earth." Rey huffed in annoyance. She knew he was testing her but couldn't keep herself from rising to the bait.

He cast his eyes to the side in a sort of shrug, then returned his gaze to hers, smirking teasingly. Then he leaned closer, his fingers taking control of her cup, shifting it closer to her mouth. "Drink, so that I can drink from your mouth."

Rey screeched, the strange liquid spilling out of the cup and dripping down her chin. "WHAT?!"

Before she could stop him, before she even knew what he was planning, he swooped in, lapping at the dribble down her neck, his lips kissing and sucking the moisture from her skin. A tingle went down her spine, her belly getting warm as her legs turned to jelly. Gasping, she pushed against his chest, forcing his mouth away from her, but unable to free herself completely from his arms.

He stared at her intently, his arms never loosening around her. "Would you like to rule the universe at my side?"

That was not at all what Rey had thought he was going to say after mauling her neck. "What?!"

She reared back, her waist bending as far as it could, but was prevented from going further by his arm tightening around her lower back before his hand slid up her spine and pressed her against him again. Within a moment she found herself splayed across his chest, all her distance lost as he pulled her nearly nose to nose with him, her hands braced on his chest. One hand landed on the silk robe covering the planes of muscle, the other... the other hand landed on bare skin.

"KYLO!"

"My name on your lips is quite pleasing." He looked like a predator, arm tightening until her elbows were bent and the tips of her breasts brushed over his chest. Unconstrained by a bra, because _ they didn't have bras and underwear in space _, all that was preventing her nipples from touching his skin was the thin layers of their robes. Leaning away, she hissed as his nose brushed her neck. "You will be my Royal Consort. My wife. A queen if that term appeals to you."

Panting with the effort it took to keep the sliver of distance she had regained, Rey glared at him. "No."

Tilting his head, he stared at her for a moment. Then he laughed, his arm loosening and allowing her to escape. He was still chuckling as she scrambled to her feet, clutching her robe together in a fist over her chest. "You saved my life. I find you interesting. You are beautiful. Wouldn't you enjoy warming my bed and commanding quadrillions of people? Dozens of systems and nearly a hundred planets?"

"No!"

"No?"

Rey nodded with a confidence she didn't feel. "No."

He eyed her speculatively. "If not to be my consort, what do you want?"

"I want to go home!"

"To your planet, Soil?"

"It's EARTH, and yes." Rey huffed, crossing her arms and refusing to look at him as he left his robe splayed open, exposing nearly his whole chest now. Damn his chest was huge and distracting. "I have to get back to the university."

He hummed, and Rey heard the rustle of fabric, forcing her to risk a look in case he was doing something else inappropriate. But he stood, and somehow, without even touching it, his clothes fell back into something resembling decent. "You wish to return to your planet. I can do that for you."

Rey blinked at him. "You want me to sleep with you... in order to go home?" Her face tightened, scrunching in anger. "I saved your life!"

"Yes. You appear to be lucky, and I want to keep you."

"You should send me home because I saved your life."

The pause before he spoke hung in the air like a sword. He finally spoke. "When we find a way to send you home, I will allow you to go if you choose, because you saved my life. On one condition."

"If the condition is that I have sex with you, then no."

"No." He smirked. "Every time I request your presence, you will come to me and we shall play a game of HoloChess. For every game that you lose, I will claim a piece of you. I may touch or kiss my possessions any time I choose."

"I don't know how to play... HoloChess?"

He shrugged, his gaze drifting in a show of indifference to her complaint. "That is my condition."

"What if I win?"

"If you win, even once, I will personally ensure that you are returned to your planet, no matter the time or cost."

"And if I refuse to take your bet?"

"Then you will stay here forever."

Rey frowned, blowing out a frustrated breath at him. "Why? Why do you want me?"

He paused. She was realizing he did that often, though he was hard to read so she couldn't tell if it was to gather his thoughts or to unnerve her. "You are beautiful, intelligent, and have strength. You appeared in my moment of need and saved my life, like a sign. I will have you as my charm while I conquer and unite the galaxy-and then the universe." He shrugged, face impassive as he stared at her. "And you stand up to me. Most women do not, so I find you interesting."

He stood in one fluid motion that made Rey gasp and take several tripping steps backwards. He seemed so much closer when he was standing. "I would find no pleasure in taking you unwilling. I would rather conquer you piece by piece until you are soft and sweetly compliant."

"Never!"

"Never?"

"Not today, not tomorrow, and not the day after!"

He smirked, "Ah, the day after that then?"

"No!"

He chuckled, but the sound didn't have humor in it; it was dark and rumbling, sending shivers down her spine and embarrassingly bringing her nipples to a point. "We shall see. Now come," He motioned, commanding her to his side as he settled into the pillows again, "We shall play."

"I haven't agreed to your bet."

The first true surprise crossed his face, his eyebrows rising as his eyes widened, tilting his head to look at her. "I hadn't thought your denying this option was a choice you were considering. Unless..." His face took on a cocky expression, "you want to stay here?"

"No... No but," Rey crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her robe tight in an attempt to hide. "But we have no idea how long it will take to send me home, so I have a condition of my own."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"You will stop when I say stop. You won't force me?"

"I told you I would take no pleasure in forcing you." He nodded, "I will stop when you say, though I'll not have you crying to stop before I even touch you. Give it a moment and you might find yourself enjoying my touch."

"I would never!"

His laugh was rich and deep, and he unfolded a strange box that suddenly glowed to life, showing something like a checkerboard and many moving pieces. "Sit. Play."

"It's not much of a challenge since I've never played before."

Kylo only shrugged, and flicked a switch that seemed to reset the figures into a confusing arrangement. "Do you agree to the bet?"

Rey stared at the board, taking a deep breath. She could play and at least have a chance of making it home, even if the chance was extremely small, or she could refuse and he would keep her here forever. He was right. She had no choice. Swallowing, mentally preparing herself to be groped when this game was over, she nodded. "Yes. I agree."

* * *

Rey was right. She stood no chance. Kylo was a master of HoloChess; he was unbeaten for many years, and she had never even heard of the game, so it had been an easy win. But he had played along. A woman had her pride after all and this Rey Kenobi seemed to have more than her fair share of fight. He liked that.

They had played mostly in silence and it was over quickly; just as in battle, he never went easy on anyone. So after closing up the game and seeing the growing dread on her face, he motioned for her to lay back, and settled himself at her side. "For tonight, I shall claim..." Kylo was torn. He wanted all of her, he especially wanted to plunder her mouth that she had denied him, but knew he had to plan his advances very carefully if he wanted to gain her complete surrender. So he chose a part of her that she wouldn't immediately refuse him.

"This."

He lifted her hand, his fingers wrapped around her delicate wrist. She was so small the idea of having her under him, willingly taking him, was dizzying. He raised his other hand, flattening it against her palm and comparing her size to his. The tips of her fingers just brushed the crease of his last joint, leaving more than an inch of his fingers.

"My... hand?"

He met her questioning gaze with a slow blink as he lowered his mouth to the back of her hand, kissing her skin gently. "Yes. Do you object?"

He could see the way her eyes darted between his and where his mouth brushed her skin, could feel the tremble of her hand in his. She wanted to refuse him, on principle, but he had chosen wisely. She couldn't refuse him this without seeming unreasonable, but she was nervous, and if he was judging her energy correctly, curious as to what he would do with her hand.

Her voice quivered, "No..." And he couldn't wait until she said his name in that quivering voice, though she would be quivering in excitement and pleasure rather than nervous anticipation.

"Good."

He pressed a kiss to the flesh under her thumb, opening his mouth just enough to scrape his teeth over the skin but not enough to be accused of biting. He was rewarded with a gasp, and he knew he had her, at least for a few moments.

* * *

_ Oh god, that mouth... _

Rey could still feel it on her hand as she lay in her bed that night. He had lavished attention, the kind of attention most women would beg for, on her hand and wrist for what felt like forever but was probably only a few minutes. Kissing her pulse. Sucking the tips of her fingers. _ Nibbling _. Using the rough pads of his fingers to trace and rub and massage. He left her tingling and warm, a few small red marks still on her skin from where he had nipped her.

She had scrambled back to her room after telling him that was enough, her face flushed and her breath panting, heart pounding heavy in her chest. Even now she could feel a throb between her legs when she thought about it. No man had ever elicited such a reaction from her. She had never been tempted; her education was too important. She refused to be the girl who got knocked-up straight out of foster care, so she had avoided all men and relationships. But she couldn't avoid Kylo. He had made sure of it.

She wanted to hate him for pushing her to this; forcing her to allow him access to her body. But it was just her hand. He hadn't done anything lewd to it, and if she tried to explain what he had done to her few friends they would think she was crazy. After all, he could have claimed her breasts or her mouth, or any number of other far more invasive places. He had stopped when she told him to, just as he had sworn he would, making Rey feel a bit more confident. Yes, he might have claimed part of her, but she could tell him no and he would listen.

She wasn't even sure he could have sex with her or impregnate her. He was an alien. There were moments that she forgot he was an alien, he looked so human. _ Felt _ so human. He even acted human, when his face showed emotion it was a familiar if not perfect expression Everything about him seemed human, other than his size, which though extremely tall wouldn't be so outlandish if she had seen him in a movie or modeling campaign on Earth. She wasn't sure, but based on everything she had seen over the past few days, she was betting his... equipment... was very similar to humans as well. But he wasn't human, so it might be worse than she imagined. Maybe he had a tentacle and wanted to put a bunch of eggs into her.

Rey shivered in disgust.

Her thoughts wouldn't stop and she found herself tossing and turning most of the night, unable to get the experience out of her head, fighting the way her mind kept trying to veer into dangerous thoughts. Like, if his mouth could do that to her hand, what could he do to... _ Nope. Not going there. _

Round and round she went, until she finally fell asleep as the two suns were slowly brightening the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

"You are certain of this?"

"Yes, My Lord."

Kylo was careful to show no signs of frustration, controlling his breathing and keeping his face impassive. Mitaka and his technicians had found another wormhole and they were predicting that it would open in a short four months. It wasn't much time to convince Rey to become his consort. No woman had ever resisted him for more than a few weeks, but he didn’t doubt the stubborn creature would be an exception, and he didn’t want to risk it.

He knew the closer they were to returning her to her planet, the more she would resist forming an attachment to him. There was a narrow window between fading her initial resistance and her becoming more stubbornly hopeful as the wormhole approached. He had thought he would have at least a year until the next wormhole, as they were rare in this sector. If he wanted her marked and mated at least a month before the wormhole opened, enough time to fully tie her to him and trust that the lure of her home had faded under his attention, he would have to increase the intensity of his campaign.

"What of Snoke's army."

"In disarray, Lord Ren." Hux answered that. "Scattering, according to reports."

Poe cleared his throat, "There are rumors that you were injured in the battle. That you are weakened." Leaning against the pillar with a casual grace, the other man raised his eyebrows at Kylo with an off-hand shrug. "There have been a few upstarts attempting to take Snoke's territory before you can claim it." 

"Mmm... I see."

Hux glared at Poe. "It is nothing to concern yourself with though, a squad of troopers could easily crush them."

"Then it should be no problem for me to go." Casting a hand at Hux, "Prepare my cruiser." The man stepped out of the war room, and returned within a few moments.

"But, Lord Ren, surely you are not needed for so small a skirmish. You should be preparing to take Snoke's capitol."

"You advice is sound, General Hux, but does not change my mind. I will plan my attack from my cruiser and we shall take the capital when I return." Kylo stood, dismissing them with a nod, but walked beside Mitaka as they dispersed, his voice low.

"I have another job for you."

"Of course, Lord Ren, how can I assist you?"

"I need to know of my physical compatibility with Lady Kenobi."

Mitaka's eyes widened, flubbing his words for a moment before composing himself. "I... yes, of course. We can run the tests, she would only need to have an exam in one of the medical tubes."

"Good. Do not tell her what it is for, only that we must be assured of her health before I take her on the cruiser."

"You... you are taking her to the rebellion?"

Kylo didn't bother responding to that. "Make sure everything is in order, I want to leave by night fall."

"Of course, My Lord."

Mitaka was easily subdued. Poe on the other hand, was not.

"You need more time to woo her?" His friend laughed, "I never thought I would see the day a woman rejected you."

"She has not rejected me. We are in negotiation."

"Mmmm..." Poe smirked, the expression much the same from their childhood. "Perhaps I should say, I have never seen you need to negotiate with a woman. Most are eager for your attention, though they might make you work for it, even before you became Royal Commander." 

"Rey is not most women. She does not seem to care the power I hold as Royal Commander. I find I quite like her resistance."

"She does not fear you?"

Kylo thought for a moment. Anyone else and he would not entertain this kind of questioning, but Poe and he had been friends almost since birth. There was no one he trusted more. "No." There had been moments when her aura had flared with nervousness, uncertainty, even a female’s wariness of him as a man. But he hadn't seen or felt true fear in her since they had escaped the Supremacy together.

"Unusual woman." Poe's tone was probing and every so lightly approving.

"Was there something you needed, General Dameron?"

"Oh no," He grinned, sauntering off and calling over his shoulder, "I can't wait for our new Royal Consort to become official. She is going to tie you up in knots."

Kylo snorted. He was a warrior, a ruler, and would not be the one tied up. He had proven that last night. Before Rey had called an end to his teasing, he had managed to have her flushed and breathing hard with only his mouth on her hand. She was strong willed, but he was more so. He would have her as his willing Consort before the wormhole opened.

* * *

Rey was just about to bite into a cobbled together alien version of a sandwich when Rose slipped in.

“Lady Kenobi, if you would like to design your own clothing, we must do it now.”

Speaking around a mouthful of strange meat and almost-lettuce, Rey stared at Rose curiously. “Wha?”

Rose watched with a sort of odd amusement as Rey hurried to chew the bite as she spoke. “Haven’t you heard? Lord Ren is taking you on campaign with him! It is so exciting.” Shaking her head with as mile, Rose dropped her gaze. “Of course, it is only a small skirmish from what I heard, but as I will need to make new clothing for your trip, it seemed a good time to take you to the fabricator.”

Rey nodded, eager to get out of these flowing robes that made her feel naked. Standing, but taking her sandwich with her, she motioned to the door. “Lead the way, I’ll eat as we go.”

* * *

After making a new wardrobe with Rose, who had pushed several more flowy items on her, Rey finally felt decent in a pair of leggings, and she had even managed to make underwear and a sort of bra. She had a newfound respect for bra designers; she had to go through three prototypes before she managed something that didn’t hurt but did cover her.

Though, judging by Rose’s scandalized expression when Rey had changed, the whispers that seemed to follow as she was lead through the palace, and Mitaka’s flushed cheeks as he very carefully avoiding looking at her body when she arrived at the medical bay, Mustafarians were not used to snug clothing.

"Uh, Mitaka, I gotta tell you, this is a terrifying machine."

The man nodded, but didn't stop tapping at the keypad. "My apologies Lady Kenobi, I'm sure this is nothing like what you are accustomed. But we need to be assured you are healthy enough to travel with Lord Ren."

"Didn't seem to bother you when you sucked me across the universe." She grumbled under her breath.

He had the sense to look chagrined. "Well, yes... My apologies for that, My Lady." But he gave her a reassuring smile and again motioned to the pod she was supposed to climb into.

“Why am I going to some battle anyway?”

“I am not sure, My Lady, Lord Ren did not share his thoughts with me.”

Wrinkling her nose, she climbed into the long tube. Laying back into the strangely comfortable cushions, the clear curved panel slid over her and a soft whirring noise started. Within seconds a scanning light began crossing over her body and line of alien text began flowing across the screen. 

"So what does it say, doc Mitaka?" Rey turned her head to look at him where he stood behind a control panel. "Am I going to live?"

His head tilted to the side in confusion. "I'm sorry, Lady Kenobi, I don't understand. Are you injured or sick in a way that might threaten your life?"

A startled laugh jumped out of her and she shook her head. "No, no... That was a joke, Mitaka."

"Do all humans have such a morbid sense of humor?"

Rey thought about it and was forced to conclude that most people did at least when it came to jokes like that. "I think so? Most of my friends do."

Mitaka seemed more interested in talking to her instead of explaining the readings on the screen.. "Do you have many friends on your planet?"

She shrugged, the scanner beam still running over her in long sweeps. "Not really. I just moved to go to school, so I have only met a few people." Sure, she had liked the few people she had met. Matt, the guy at the bookstore who sold her the textbooks had seemed interested and mentioned inviting her to his dungeons and dragons group, and the girl she had met at the cafe, Daisy, had said they should study together. But she had only been there for twothere for two weeks and hadn’t even started classes yet. That wasn't enough time or opportunity to make close bonds.

"What of your friends in your... home location?" Mitaka stumbled over what was probably trying to translate as home town.

"No, I've been a little too obsessed with getting out of town." Realizing how that made her sound, Rey winced. "I mean, I have friends, but..."

"No one you are especially close with?"

The machine above her beeped and the scanner beam changed colors, now doing small sharp movements over her torso. "Yeah, I guess not." There was no point in getting close to anyone in Jakku, not when she was planning to leave and they were planning to stay. There was no way she was getting stuck in that podunk little nowhere town, and emotional connections would have been an anchor tying her there.

"Any family?"

That was a sore subject and Rey looked away from Mitaka and back up at the ceiling. "No... no family."

"I have been doing research on your planet and my understanding is that humans engage in pair bonds and when they produce offspring, the infants are incapable of caring for themselves."

"Oh... yeah, that's true." Swallowing, suddenly feeling like her throat was made of sandpaper, she nodded. "Did you find any research about something called foster care?"

"I am afraid that was not in my research. What is foster care?"

Taking a deep breath, Rey tried to distance herself from the pain this story always caused. "My parents, they um... they abandoned me. I don't remember much but the paperwork said I was around four. They never turned up to get me and social services was never able to find them. All they had to go on was that I knew my first name and what they had what they assumed was my last name on a bracelet I was wearing." Lifting her hand to rub her sleeve over her face, Rey was glad she at least sounded like she was fine, she felt like her chest was going to burst from trying to subdue the emotions that always came with this story. "They either died or went back to England. Social thinks they must have been on holiday and just..."

Mitaka appeared at her side as the scanner stopped, and he pushed a few buttons, causing the sliding panel to move away. "I do not understand. How could a parent leave a child on their own?"

"Been asking myself that for a few years. You figure it out, let me know." Rey took the hand he offered and started to climb out of the medical pod.

Mitaka shook his head. "Such behavior is not possible among our people. We bond very closely with our mates and offspring. Nothing but death or imprisonment would keep us from our family."

"That sounds nice." Rey plastered a smile on her face. "Do you have a family?"

He nodded, his face lighting up as he began to tell her about it. "My mate's name is Phasma, she is one of Lord Kylo's trusted captains and works closely with General Hux. Our first childc is only..."

Rey listened with half an ear as Mitaka prattled on, seeming to recognize that Rey wanted the distraction, as he led her back to her rooms.

After leaving her in the care of her maids, Mitaka rushed to his Lord’s study.

“Lord Ren!” He burst in, and hurried to where he sat at a computer terminal.

Ren’s eyes flicked up from what he had been working on with a hint of annoyance at Mitaka’s entrance, but he turned towards his vassal and nodded.

“I have finished Lady Kenobi’s physical evaluation.”

This caught the other male’s full attention and his eyes brightened with the intensity of his interest. “And?”

“All results point to physical compatibility, but most interesting of all,” Mitaka was nearly vibrating with excitement at his find and Kylo raised an eyebrow.

He had hoped that they would be physically compatible, most humanoid species had similar reproductive organs, and despite the lack of designation indicators in humans, Rey had appeared nearly identical to a woman of his species, other than being smaller. He wasn’t terribly surprised by the results.

“There were bioindicators in her genome, signalling that somewhere in her history, one of her ancestors successfully reproduced with a Mustafarian!”

Kylo was silent for a long moment, thinking quickly. “Are you telling me that Lady Kenobi is part Mustafarian, and that there is a possibility of producing offspring with her?”

Mitaka nodded so hard and fast that Kylo thought it must have hurt. Though Mitaka expressed himself differently than Kylo, Lord Ren couldn’t help the bloom of pleasure and excitement at this news. Though most humanoid species were physically compatible, it had been too much to hope that they were genetically compatible and able to bear functional and intact children. Some species combinations couldn’t reproduce at all, while others could only produce sterile or malformed young.

But now Kylo’s mind moved to a new question. If he could breed with her, “Is it possible to trigger any latent Mustafarian traits?”

Mitaka paused, staring at him curiously and speaking slowly, as if to avoid offending him. “You want to try and make her designation appear?”

Though it was a crude way of phrasing it, Kylo nodded. At the heart of his desire for her, he wanted to mate her and bond to her properly, as Alpha and Omega. He already knew she would present as an Omega, he had felt it when they first met. Something lurking under her skin had called to him. The more he thought of it the more he had likened it to the pull of Omegas. But when she stood up to him, telling him how he could and couldn’t touch her? He was hooked on her strength and her beauty, and if the reports of what she was reading were to believed, she was smart as well. Perfect.

“I will have to run a few tests in the simulator, but…” Mitaka was lost in his calculations, his eyes unfocused as he spoke. “I think I might be able to come up with a serum that would trigger her Mustafarian DNA to become more dominant.”

“Do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are going to slow down a little bit, probably once a week, so I don't get too close to where I'm writing in case I need to make edits.
> 
> Also, comments are my bread and butter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS!!
> 
> Some people seem a little concerned, so even though it is a spoiler for later on, I wanted to reassure you all. Kylo is NOT going to jab her with the serum against her will, without her knowledge, or anything like that. I understand the worry and I don't want anyone to stop reading for fear that he is going to just walk up and jab her or slip in in her drink or something. That is NOT going to happen. When I said Mildly Dubious Consent, I meant Mildly. The most non-consensual thing he is going to do is what he is already doing, using the game to claim parts of her body. Even then, SPOILERS, he is not going to take the really good parts or do anything to her that she doesn't want. He will stop when she tells him to.

Rey was called to Kylo’s room again, this time in the late afternoon early evening, just before dinner. He needed to make more progress with her before they boarded the cruizer tonight, something that would enable him to mark her as his in public without her protesting. They would be boarding a ship full of warriors, so Kylo felt it was necessary. He already knew what he needed to do, but his frustration at not being able to take what he wanted was weighing heavy on him.

Until he was distracted by Rey walking in and his eyes nearly fell out of his head and his mouth started watering. Her legs were completely exposed by whatever thin and tight fabric she had wrapped them in. It looked painted on, and he could see every curve and line of her shape.

“Kylo.” Her greeting was cool, probably to prompt him to say something as he had been simply looking at her for the past few minutes, but Kylo was too distracted by her legs to respond more cleverly than a nod. She walked past where he lounged, headed towards the food and drink he had arranged for her.

Unable to stifle his curiosity, and everything in his experience telling him that this was an invitation, he reached out and slid his palm up the outside of her thigh and over the curve of her bottom. “What is this?”

She yelped and slapped his hand away, making him growl loud enough that her eyes went wide as she turned and hid her ass against the table. Then she glared at him.

“How dare you?!”

Tilting his head he continued to examine her legs. “Your clothing. What is it? I have never seen such.”

Her glare of anger turned to slight confusion and annoyance, her eyes softening and her mouth quirking from a frown into more of a pout. “My leggings?”

He nodded, “Yes, the clothing on your legs. What is it?”

“It’s just leggings.” He reached out again to touch her and she slapped his hand away again. “No touching, Kylo!”

Glaring at her, disappointed, he pulled his hand back feeling like a petulant child denied his opportunity to play with a new toy.

“Oh, wipe that pout off your face. You know you can’t touch me like that.”

Apparently he looked as childish as he felt. Shifting his shoulders, noticing how her eyes followed the movement soothed his pride, he rolled his eyes. Then another thought struck him, filling him with possessive anger. “Did you wear those around the palace? Did other males see you like this?”

“Yes, why?”

He growled again and her eyes narrowed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t like other males seeing so much of you.”

“I’m completely covered.” Rey turned away and began filling her plate. “More covered than you all are, showing off your chests all the time with those robes.”

His chest tightened. “But I can see all of you.”

“And? You are supposedly a great and powerful boss man. Deal with it.” She shrugged flipping her hair over her shoulder and he felt himself wind tighter.

He grumbled again but her icy look reminded him that he couldn’t simply growl and command her not to wear such things. They would be thinking exactly what he was thinking, that her legs look delectable. No one would intentionally hurt her, but they might take it as an invitation as he had, so he would have to spread the word that this type of clothing was not an invitation for male to court a woman.

Once she had a plate of food, she dawdled, taking her time to avoid joining him across from the Holo board he had set up. Finally, after several long minutes of her standing around eating and pretending to look at the other food, he beckoned her with a wave of his hand. “Enough Rey, come sit.”

She sighed, and he raised an eyebrow. Locked in a silent stand off for a long moment until she gave in and folded herself into position across from him.

Though she was improving, learning the rules and practicing the game, she still wasn’t a challenge for him. His win wasn’t a surprise for either of them, and Rey looked both resigned and nervous, hunching in on herself and tilting her face down and away as her eyes darted around, refusing to settle on him.

Inwardly, he smirked, but was careful not to show his pleasure to her. Instead of calling her to come to him, he moved to her side, a slow predatory crawl across the pillows that drew her attention and made her cheeks flush. Within moments he was settled at her side and he could feel the way her breath was coming shorter and faster than before.

Shifting until he was within a breath of her skin, he ran his face up and down from her temple to her collar bone, testing her awareness of him without touching her. He was rewarded with the sight of her pupils expanding and her breath shuddering as his nose skimmed the hair at the nape of her neck.

He could feel the tension in the air, could sense that she was about to speak, to ask something or refuse him access to her, and let his hand drift down to tangle with hers. He laced their fingers together, his big hand dwarfing hers, her skin soft on his palm and the rough calluses from his lightsaber. She hesitated, and his chest relaxed, releasing the tension that had been building the moment he saw her in those leg-things. She would accept this.

“I claim,” He lifted his mouth, finally making contact with her skin as he nuzzled her temple. “This.”

“What?” She swallowed, eyes darting up to his, and he let his eyes relax, going soft and gentle for her. He wanted her to see the emotions that he usually kept tightly leashed, to see that he wouldn’t hurt her. He needed her to see his desire for her.

“This.” He planted a kiss on the edge of her forehead, closing his eyes as he rubbed his face against the side of her head. If he could get her to accept this kind of touch it would be much easier to scent her. If she had been one of his people, keeping his scent on her would have accomplished two goals; keeping other males away by warning them that there was a claim, and lingering on her skin so she would continue to smell him even when he wasn’t with her, encouraging bonding. And if Mitaka was able to concoct a serum to activate her Mustafarian genes, he wanted his scent to be the first one her Omega smelled.

It had been almost three days. Having her covered in his scent would soothe his frustration at the slow speed of their courtship. Most Alphas had finished courting their mates by the second day and were placing bonds by the third. He probably had at least a month or two before she let him mate her.

“My… head?”

“If that is what you want to call it.” He huffed softly into the edge of her hair, breathing her in and trying to deposit more of himself. He felt her hand twitch in his, almost as if to pull away but then remembering he was holding her, and it relaxed again.

“But… not my face?”

Kylo grit his teeth and hid the expression in her hair, continuing to nuzzle and kiss against her. He wanted her face. He wanted to kiss her mouth and press his forehead to hers. He wanted to be able to press her face to his neck, or even better, have her willingly nuzzle against him. But he needed to move quickly using small steps. This was a small step. “If you are offering…”

“No, no, my head is fine, I just…”

There was a long pause and Kylo smirked, filling it on his own, “You thought my choices of your body would be different?”

Rey glance away, her expression showing embarrassment, and he huffed a laugh into her hair. “Well, yeah. Most guys would go for the...” Kylo’s breath caught, hoping she would say something erotic, but she only shrugged. “You know, the obvious parts.”

“I am not most guys.” Her head turned slightly and Kylo was caught by her eyes, only inches from his, and for a breath they stared at each other. “I would rather you give me your obvious parts.”

“Oh.”

After another moment, Kylo gently squeezing her hand and leaning his chest into her side, he rubbed his nose against the spot he had chosen, whispering in her ear. “If we were lovers, which parts would you give me, Rey?”

This close he could feel her breath catch, hear the soft sound in her throat and his own body responded, hardening as his heart beat faster, excitement for his mate coursing through him. “Would you give me your nipples? Would you let me touch them…. Kiss them?”

She gasped, her voice high and thready, “N… no!”

He hummed in disappointment, but didn’t stop whispering to her. “Could I lick your neck, Rey? I didn’t get nearly enough time when you spilled your drink.”

She shook her head, mouth quivering. “You… you can’t do this, you didn’t… You didn’t…”

“I’m just talking to you.” The chaste kiss he planted on her temple was at odds with the heavy sexual tension in the air. “Don’t you want to know what I might claim next? What I might do with those claims?”

Despite her protests, even now she was shaking her head, her fingers were clinging to his, not trying to wiggle away.

Lifting the hand he had claimed, he held it where she could see it, murmuring softly in her ear, “Look how big my hand is... so much bigger than yours.” She shivered, and he very carefully let his lips brush her ear when he spoke, careful not to scare her away. “I can hold you, any part of you that you want. Could I stroke your back, Rey?” Watching how she went heavy-lidded and dazed, Kylo nearly lost control, growling as his hips thrust against her thigh.

That broke the spell he had cast, and the aroused fog in her eyes snapped into clarity, her head whipping to look at him. “No.. No, no no no… I’ve got to… I’m going to go… Back to my rooms…” Though he wasn’t holding her down, she was still struggling, fighting to free herself from where they had tangled together.

She nearly slipped on a pillow and he caught her with a hand on her back, but instead of being grateful she acted as if he had shocked her, jerking away and giving him a glare. “You… you don’t get to touch there, Kylo.”

He nodded, not saying anything as she scurried away, dashing out the door as if he would yank her back and pounce on her given the chance. He fought the need though; the temptation to chase a woman was ingrained in him, a courtship game as old as time, but he knew she wasn’t ready.

* * *

Boarding the cruiser that evening had been an overblown affair, Rey had been pushed by her maids to dress up for it, and after seeing the display she was glad she had agreed. There were easily hundreds of soldiers in shiny all white armor, General Hux and Dameron were dressed in what she could only assume was the ceremonial uniform, and Kylo…

Kylo was in all black, the same outfit she had seen him in when they first met, armored fabric pants and a quilted top, also presumably with the armor built in. But he was also wearing a huge black cape made of heavy fabric that flowed over his shoulders like water, making him look even larger and more powerful. She shivered and his eyes had flicked to her, not smiling but the careful shift of his eyes told her he had noticed and would probably be using it against her.

He was getting under her skin.

She couldn’t get his voice out of her head, whispering all the things he could or would do to her, if or when she gave him access to her body. He seemed to think it was only a matter of time, but Rey was certain she could resist him. It was schrodinger’s sexual tension and Rey was pretty sure she would go crazy from it if she didn’t get home soon. It was constantly on her mind, influencing her decisions even when she didn’t want it to.

When she got dressed? Her mind was whirling with whether or not he would like her outfit, and if she wanted him to like her clothes, and if she purposely dressed in something he wouldn’t like what did that say about her? When she bathed, she looked down at her body, she remembered the things he had said, imagined even more, and was ashamed of her reactions. When she ate or drank, she remembered how he always watched when she ate, or the way he had wanted to drink from her mouth the first night. Studying HoloChess whenever she could, hassling anyone who would play with her, needing to practice. It was nerve wracking.

All for him to smirk at her, as if he knew.

They had stood in front of the assembled servants and troops, and in front of everyone, he took her hand, kissing it before tucking it into his elbow. His eyes meeting hers and silently reminding her of how he had kissed, licked, sucked, and worshiped the same hand. He had kept her close to his side during the walk to the ship, using her hand on his arm as an anchor, his cape flowing behind them and brushing her bare legs, making her hyper aware of how he could touch her legs. When would he claim her legs?

Shaking her head, Rey tried to stay aware of what was going on. Finding them at the top of the long ramp into the ship, he had paused. Looking out over the crowd, he gently gripped her chin, tilting her face up and kissing her forehead. Rey went red and hot and cold and everything in between. She couldn’t stop him- he had claimed her forehead and hadn’t done anything wrong according to their agreement, but somehow his kiss in front of all these people felt significant.

  
He unhooked her hand from his sleeve, lifting it to kiss the inside of her wrist before ushering her to the waiting maids as he addressed the troops. Rose and Kaydel were fluttering around her, cooing at how romantic it was and how sweet he was with her, but Rey was too dazed to really pay attention. That felt… important. Almost ritualistic. _ What just happened? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to repeat
> 
> SPOILERS!!
> 
> Some people seem a little concerned, so even though it is a spoiler for later on, I wanted to reassure you all. Kylo is NOT going to jab her with the serum against her will, without her knowledge, or anything like that. I understand the worry and I don't want anyone to stop reading for fear that he is going to just walk up and jab her or slip in in her drink or something. That is NOT going to happen. When I said Mildly Dubious Consent, I meant Mildly. The most non-consensual thing he is going to do is what he is already doing, using the game to claim parts of her body. Even then, SPOILERS, he is not going to take the really good parts or do anything to her that she doesn't want. He will stop when she tells him to.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been nearly a week since boarding the cruiser, a week since Kylo had required Rey to play HoloChess with him. A week of wondering if tonight would be the night he called her to his rooms. But no. Instead, he invited her to sit next to him at the head table in the dining hall, eating and conversing with Hux and Poe and the other high level officers. Rey even got to meet Mitaka’s wife… or mate… or whatever. Captain Phasma was a strict and solid type of woman, but all the same seemed friendly enough.

Despite not calling her to his rooms, he managed to infiltrate her thoughts in the evenings. Wondering when or if he would call her, should she change into her pajamas or stay dressed? What would he claim next? Surely he would not keep choosing such innocent locations… His use of them wasn’t innocent, but all the same, she had expected him to rush forward to claim more of her.

Her frustration had been obvious and, since she had been learning to fly a Tie-fighter in the simulator, Poe had invited her to take one out for a test flight. She didn’t even have a driver’s license on Earth and she was driving a spaceship. And she was very good at it..

She hadn’t thought of Earth in a few days, but then Rose said something about her sister attending an academy, and Rey was reminded that every day she spent here was a day she lost her life on earth. How long would her boss tolerate her absence, and how would Rey try to explain it? If she lost her job, she would lose her apartment. Yeah, it was small, but it was hers and it was all she had. If didn’t get home within a few days, she would miss school, and if she missed school, she would lose her scholarship. No scholarship meant no way to get a degree, which for so many years had been Rey’s only hope of escaping the dismal life she had been given. A degree meant a job, and money, and the security of a steady paycheck, a roof over her head, and regular food.

Of course her panic attack about essentially losing everything she had worked so hard for happened at night. One of the social workers had always said “nothing good happens after midnight, only bad choices, so just go to bed.” Rey didn’t know if it was after midnight, but she was about to make some bad decisions.

Pulling up the galactic map on the terminal in her room, she plotted a course to Earth. It didn’t look that far. Only a few hundred parsecs, whatever that meant. A parsec couldn’t be much more than a mile. Rey was certain she could fly a few hundred miles. It shouldn’t even take very long. No one had even told her when or how they would get her home, so this seemed like the best idea. And she wouldn’t have to play more HoloChess with Kylo, losing bit of herself to him every time.

So Rey snuck down to the hanger, logged into the ship she had been training in, and pulled up the route. Then launched herself into space.

* * *

Her social worker had been right. Nothing good ever happened after midnight. She had been dozing in the pilot chair and letting the auto-pilot do the real work when an alarm sounded, just before the small fighter shook with the impact of something. Someone was shooting at her.

Things had gone from bad to worse, and Rey ended up entering the atmosphere of the planet whose drone had attacked her, and flying in an atmosphere was very different from flying in space. Rey was  _ not  _ very good at it.

She had crashed. Uninjured but trapped by fallen foliage and broken parts of the ship, she was left to either be attacked by the local lifeforms, or starve to death because she couldn’t get out.

But before she was overrun by whatever aliens lived there, Kylo and the First Order had showed up. She had never been so embarrassed as when he used the force to pry the front panel of her ship open, climbing inside and picking her up like it was nothing. Despite her protests that she wasn’t hurt and could walk, he refused to put her down, carrying her all the way back to his ship.

She later found out that a parsec was nothing like a mile; more like almost twenty trillion miles. And the distance she had planned to travel? That would have taken over four hundred years at light speed, and the ship she had taken didn’t even have a lightspeed drive.

Kylo hadn’t said a word the whole trip back, only giving her temple a rough kiss before releasing her into the arms of her wailing maids and stalking away through the long hallway.

* * *

That evening, after Poe came to talk with her (and revoke her fl;ight privileges until further notice), she decided she needed to apologize to Kylo. Or thank him. Or worst of all, both. Rey was feeling somewhat sheepish as she moved towards Kylo's quarters on the cruiser, a mix of embarrassed that she had  _ needed  _ to be saved and annoyed that it had been  _ him  _ that saved her. If he was anything like the men she had met on Earth, she had no doubt he would gloat and try to push for an advantage. He would probably go for a more naughty location tonight, and Rey was consumed with nerves, wondering what he would choose.

She knocked and the door whisked open with a soft hiss of pressurized air, finding him easily, the room much smaller than his suite in the palace. Much like her visits to his rooms at the palace, he was sprawled on the floor, pillows surrounding him. But instead of the light robes he had been wearing while in the palace, she was surprised to find him in what looked like a thinner, lighter version of his battle gear.

Rey was wearing a soft pajama set that she and Rose managed to make, and since he liked to call her to him so late in the evening, she had already prepared for bed. She refused to get dressed again for him, she didn't want him thinking she was trying to impress him, so she had slapped on a robe and tied it tight. He wasn’t getting past that knot.

Unlike most nights, when he had an array of trays laden with food, tonight there was just him and the HoloChess board. It was so late, Rey had already eaten, which he must have known. He never hesitated to provide her with more food and drink than she could eat.

He already had the board set up and, even though she had been training with the computer simulator and Poe had been helping her learn the rules, she still wasn't very good. He had promised to allow her to go through the wormhole if she played these games with him, to deliver her home safe if she could win a game, but all Rey could think about was what would happen when he ran out of innocent places to claim. He had taken her hand, then her forehead and he seemed to enjoy embarrassing her by kissing her forehead in front of others.

Tonight was no different from the previous games, though she put up a good fight. Rey lost. Kylo won. He was quick to swoop close to her, picking up the hand he already owned and pressing several quick kisses against her skin. Then when Rey was red and flustered, he made his move. Turning, he sprawled into her lap, nuzzling against her stomach before settling the back of his head into the cradle of her thighs.

"What are you doing!"

Hiding his smile, Kylo closed his eyes and rubbed himself against her a bit more, as if only getting comfortable. "I claim your lap for my head. I require a pillow."

"And I am your pillow?"

"That is what I have chosen. Your lap is mine to lay my head in when I require it of you."

"That's not fair..."

"Would you prefer I chose another body part to lavish my attention on instead?" Without opening his eyes, he somehow looked amused. "I had no idea you were so eager for my touch, Rey."

Rey could feel that her voice was too high pitched when she responded, "NO, no, the lap is fine!" And wished she could have been born with the gene that let her be calm and cool in the face of stress.

"Are you sure? I would enjoy placing several kisses along your neck if my use of your lap is uncomfortable."

Gritting her teeth, Rey glared at him even though he wasn't even looking at her. "No... it's fine." She grit the words in her teeth, but she managed them.

"If you are sure." Kylo settled in with the air of victory that Rey was so used to and she wished she could slap him, but knew she couldn't. Or rather, shouldn't.

Very quickly, she was bored. Kylo seemed to have fallen asleep in her lap, but Rey wasn't willing to test the idea that he might be pretending to trick her. Though what for, she had no idea. Much like HoloChess, Kylo planned everything several steps in advance and it was too much for Rey to try and predict him.

Glancing at him, his head in her lap and his face turned toward her stomach as he lay on his back in the pillows, Rey found her eyes tracing his face. He looked younger. Always so stern and stiff when he was awake, but when he was asleep everything about him softened. Even his hair seemed to relax, a few strands out of place on his forehead and some at his neck tangled in the collar of his robe.

She didn't plan it. It just happened. It was like watching a hand on a movie screen, someone else was controlling it and she could only watch as her fingers brushed over his forehead, threading through the misbehaving strands and pushing them back into place. Then her fingers traced down, tucking his hair behind his ear.

Her other hand slapped over her mouth to keep the burst of laughter inside. His ears were gigantic! She really shouldn't be surprised, all of him was large, and his other features, like his nose and lips, were oversized even on his big body. But he was so cute; with his hair tucked behind his ears, she would never guess he was a fearsome alien warrior. He looked like the kind of guy who would be nervous taking her coffee order, and would stammer at the slightest flirtation. He looked like someone she might flirt with, which was an odd idea.

Shaking her head, trying to dislodge those troublesome thoughts, her fingers were still stroking his silky soft hair, gently tracing his skin and his collar to try and free the strands from between the fabric and his neck.

He growled, eyes shooting open and in a flurry of movement he had her pinned under him. "What do you think you are doing?"

Staring up at him in a mix of shock and surprise, Rey gasped. He was fully on top of her. Sure, they had been pressed side to side before. But she had never felt the full force of Kylo Ren. His knees were braced around her thighs, his hands holding her wrists down, his eyes like hot coals as he stared into her.

"Tucking your hair out of the way?"

"What?"

"Your hair... It was stuck in your robe. I was just trying to get it out."

He grumbled, looking at her as if he could discern her every thought and motive with just those piercing eyes of his. Then, he rolled away, leaving Rey struggling to breathe.

"Are you..." Rey giggled as the thought struck her. "Are you ticklish?"

"Ticklish?" He shook his head. "I do not know that word and it is not translating correctly."

"Like-" Rey held up her hands and wiggled her fingers at him, "I do this to your skin and you laugh and wiggle."

"No. I am not ticklish." He rolled away sitting up and shaking his head, making his hair fall to hide his ears again. “Do not run away again, Rey. I promised to return you to your planet and I will.” His eyes shifted sideways to look at her, the expression on his face almost teasing. “But I did not know you would miss my attention so much. From now on, I promise to call you to my chambers more often.”

“First of all, I didn’t run away because of you. You make it sound so childish. I was escaping aliens and trying to get to my home planet.” Rey glared at him, “And second of all, you still don’t know when or how you will send me home. I have a life Kylo, I need to get back to it.”

“Four months.”

“What?”

“Mitaka’s tests predict that a wormhole will open in four months, and we can send you home.”

Rey deflated. “Four months…” It wasn’t very long, not compared to the flight she had tried to take. But it was still enough to destroy her life.

“You do not seem pleased.”

She shook her head, looking at her fingers where they picked at the fabric in her lap. “I’m not.”

“Why? Four months is not long.”

The fact that he had voiced what she had been thinking unnerved her, but she nodded. “Yeah. Just long enough to lose my apartment, my job, and my chance at school.”

Kylo’s head tilted and for a moment he stared at her thoughtfully, something deep and dark happening behind his eyes. Then he seemed to exhale, resigned to something he didn’t say, and the tension slipped away. “I will have Mitaka work with you to devise a suitable reason for your absence. I will also have him provide you with monetary compensation for your time and lost opportunities.”

“What?” Rey blinked at him.

“Mitaka’s team can fabricate a suitable excuse. You can help him make something believable as he is unaware of your human customs, and I will provide you with something that has value on your planet. You can trade it for money to repair your circumstances.”

“You would do that?”

Now Kylo looked confused. “Of course. Though I would rather have you as my mate, if you choose to return to your planet, I would not have you suffer for our mistake bringing you here.”

“That’s… Really sweet, Kylo.” Rey refused to cry in front of him. But she had never been able to depend on anyone for anything, and now here he was offering to help fix her life? “Thank you.”

He nodded, as if it was nothing. Which it might be. For a man… alien… that ruled a big galactic territory and had a gigantic palace, what she needed was probably a miniscule amount to him. It still meant the world to her.

But she couldn’t let him know how much it affected her, so she smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “So, the great Kylo Ren is ticklish… What should I do with this information?”

“I told you, I am not ticklish.”

Kylo was ticklish. But that was not what had caused his reaction to her touch on his neck. She had touched his glands.

Though that was always a sensitive area, the strength of his reaction to her had been shocking. He had never responded to a female like that, not even the Omegas his mother had thrust under his nose for several years in his youth. Most touches to his glands were pleasurable, women had touched and even kissed his glands before, but Rey’s touch had been a brutal wave of lust. His mind felt like it had hazed over and his whole body was throbbing and hard, eager for her.

Hiding the shudder of his ribcage when he thought about her mouth on his glands, he settled his clothes, carefully concealing his lap. “Do not do that again. Not unless you want to become my wife.”

Rey’s face took on that adorably confused expression that he both loathed and loved. He wished she knew. If she was one of his people, these things would be so much easier. He would declare himself, they would scent each other, and after a few exploratory courtship games to confirm compatibility, they would become mates within days. The idea that he had to wait for some strange Earth social cue that he didn’t even know what he was looking for, was unacceptable to his instincts.

When she looked like she was going to ask, he shushed her and settled back with his head in her lap, eager for both the comfort of her touch and the pleasure of her scent. Within moments, he felt a hesitant touch to his hair. Keeping his eyes closed and hiding any reactions, he felt her begin to gently stroke and thread her fingers through his hair, and he hoped that he never had to follow through with his promise.

He would happily provide her with whatever she needed to ensure her life was easier. But he would rather do it with her at his side as his mate.

Soon her hand went still and he felt her relax, her breathing going slow and soft. Opening his eyes slowly, he turned, finding Rey slumped against the pillows, asleep with her hand tangled in his hair.

“Good girl.”

Being comfortable enough to fall asleep in his presence, with them touching as they had been, was progress. But he was never a man to deny himself what he wanted, and he wanted more of her. He wanted her in his bed where he could pretend they were mates and always slept this way. So he carefully shifted, picking her up and moving her to his bed in the wall alcove. Stripping away his robe, leaving him in just his loose pants, he crawled into the bed with her. Curving his body around her back, he wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his nose behind her ear after pulling up the blankets.

Then he relaxed and let himself fall asleep.


End file.
